Machinery stop and method of installation

ABSTRACT

An adjustable machinery stop includes a weldable base portion and a weldable resilient portion connected to and overlying the base portion. To install the stop between two abutable machine members, including any necessary adjustment, the stop is secured to one of the abutable members so that the resilient portion may be contacted by the other abutable member. The other abutable member is moved into contact with the stop and flexes the resilient portion until the desired limit is reached. The other abutable member is then held in that limiting position until the resilient portion of the stop is at least partially welded to the base portion to form a rigid stop.

United States Patent [19 Den Bleyker [451 Feb. 25, 1975 MACHINERY STOP AND METHOD OF INSTALLATION [75] Inventor: Joseph R. Den Bleyker, Stevensville,

Mich.

[73] Assignee: Clark Equipment Company,

Buchanan, Mich.

22 Filed: Sept. 27, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 401,462

[51] Int. Cl ..B2lk 19/00 I [58] Field of Search 214/142, 152, 764, 776; 248/19; 29/445, 446, 404, 148.3, 497.5; 74/526 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1962 Schlosser, Jr. et al.'. 248/19 9/1971 Denholm 248/19 Primary Examiner-Albert J. Makay Assistant ExaminerDonald W. Underwood Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kenneth C. Witt [57] ABSTRACT An adjustable machinery stop includes a weldable base portion and a weldable resilient portion connected to and overlying the base portion. To install the stop between two abutable machine members, including any necessary adjustment, the stop is secured 'to one of the abutable members so that the resilient portion maybe contacted by the other abutable member. The other abutable member is moved into contact with the stop and flexes the resilient portion until the desired limit is reached. The other abutable member is then held in that limiting position until the resilient portion of the stop is at least partially welded to the basev portion to form a rigid stop.

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to machinery which has one member which abuts or contacts another during operation of the machine. Such abutment may occur regularly during normal operation of the machine or it may occur only under special or emergency conditions. In any event it may be desirable to utilize a stop between the two abutable members, such stop being affixed to one of them and being contacted by the other when the two members are in position that they would otherwise be abutting each other. Such stops generally have two principal purposes: (1) to prevent or minimize deformation of one or both of the abutable members or other members connected thereto, and (2) to provide an accurate limit to the movement of one machine member relative to the other.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various types of stops have been employed heretofore and two prior patents showing machinery of the same type as that on which the present invention is disclosed are US. Pat. Nos. 3,522,897 dated Aug. 4, 1970 and 3,045,843 dated July 24, 1962. Both of these patents show loader machines which embody stops in various locations. The first mentioned patent shows a rigid stop for limiting motion of the bucket dumping mechanism under certain abnormal conditions. The other patent shows yieldable or resilient stops which provide a cushioning action and which adjust the positions of the stops under varying operating conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present invention a machinery stop member includes a weldable base portion and a weldable resilient portion overlying the base portion and resiliently connected to the base portion in its initial uninstalled and unadjusted condition. In locating the stop between two abutable machine members the stop is secured to one of the abutable members and arranged so that the resilient portion may be contacted by the other abutable member. The other abutable member is moved into engagement with the flexible portion until the limit of desired movement is reached. Then, the resilient portion and the base portion of the stop are connected by welding while the other abutable member remains in the limit position in contact with the stop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 7 shows the same boom arm mechanism in a difv ferent position,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 7 showing in greater detail one step in theuse of this in- ,vention,

FIG. 9 is the same as FIG. 8 except showing the stop in its installed condition,

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the principal structural portion only of the boom arm mechanism of FIG. 6, and

FIG. 11 is a view along the line 1l-l1 ofFIG. 10.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. l-3 inclusive of the drawing, there is shown, and indicated by the numeral 10, one form of a machinery stop in accordance with the present invention. The stop 10 includes a base portion 12, an overlying cantilever portion 14 which is resiliently joined to the base portion at location 16. The stop 10 may, for example, be made from a single piece of steel by torch cutting to remove the material which previously occupied the slot 18 to form the structure shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows the stop 10 in its condition after it has been installed on a machine in adjusted and operating condition. In this condition the portion 14 has been moved downwardly toward the base portion 12, and after portion 14 reached the desired position portion 14 was then welded to base 12 as indicated at 20.

FIG. 4 shows a stop member indicated by the character 10c, which is similar to that of FIGS. l-3. In the event that additional welding is needed between the portions 14 and 12 this can be conveniently provided as indicated at 22 in FIG. 4 as a result of the prior removal of the outer portions of the upper part of the stop. It will be appreciated that it is frequently desired to have a stop which is very rigid after installation, with a minimum of resilience, and the construction of FIG. 4 can be utilized in a situation'in which the stop of FIGS. l-3 would not provide sufficient rigidity.

FIG. 5 shows another form of stop, indicated by 1021, which is for installation on a curved surface. It has similar base and resiliently connected overlying portions, indicated respectively at 12a and 14a. The installation of curved stop members such as this is illustrated in FIGS. 6, 10 and 11.

FIG. 6 of the drawing shows a somewhat schematic side elevational view of the boom arm mechanism of a front end loader which utilizes the present invention. In FIG. 6 the boom arm mechanism is indicated generally by the numeral 24 and is shown in a load carry position. There is shown in FIG. 10 the basic or skeletal boom structure that includes one boom arm member 26a on one side and a corresponding boom arm member 26b on the other. They are interconnected by crosstube 28 which is discussed in greater detail hereafter and also by other parts which are likewise pointed out later. It

will be understood that many of the parts mentioned are present on both sides of the boom arm mechanism.

The boom mechanism 24 is pivoted about axis 30 on structure 32 which forms a portion of a wheel type loader in this illustrative disclosure. See also FIG. 10 for axis 30. In the preferred mode of the invention which is shown the boom arm mechanism 24 carries a bucket 34 which is pivotally mounted on the boom arm mechanism about axis 36 (see .FIGS. 6 and 10). Also mounted on the boom arm structure on each side, is a mechanism which includes a bellcrank 38 which is pivoted about axis 40. Links 42 are connected between the bottom ends of the bellcranks at 44 and the pivots indicated at 46 on the bucket. The bucket is provided with brackets 48 on each side and the links are pivoted at 46 on such brackets. Hydraulic actuators 50 of the piston and cylinder type are connected between pivot points 52 at the upper ends of the bellcranks and locations 54 on structure 32. It will be understood by those familiar with such loaders that the extension of actuators 50 pivots the bucket 34 counterclockwise about pivot axis 36, and the contraction of actuators 50 pivots the bucket 34 in the opposite way, that is, clockwise.

The boom mechanism is raised by suitable means, such as hydraulic actuators 57, and when it is in the position shown in FIG. 7, the actuators 50 may be retracted to cause the bucket to pivot about axis 36 to the dumped position indicated in FIG. 7.

FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawing show a stop member 10 during installation and after installation respectively on the surface of bucket 34 in position to contact arm member 26a. In the normal operation of a boom arm mechanism as described and illustrated herein it is common during dumping of the bucket 34 for the bucket to abut the boom arm mechanism which carries the bucket for two reasons; one is to limit the travel of the bucket in the downward dumping position, and the other is to provide a sharp blow or blows on the bucket in order to assist in discharging material from it. It will be appreciated that actuators 50 may be operated repeatedly in order to cause bucket 34 to bump the boom structure in order to aid in dislodging material which tends to stick in the bucket.

It will be appreciated also that the material of which the bucket is made is relatively thin and that such operation would very soon deform the bucket if a suitable stop member were not provided on the surface of the bucket to absorb the shock of the contact between the two parts and spread the load and stresses over sufficient portions of the bucket that the bucket is not deformed. Even though reference is made herein to abutable members such as bucket 34 and boom arms 26a and 26b it will be appreciated that they do not actually contact each other because of the intervening stops.

FIG. 8 illustrates the first step in installing a stop according to the present invention. Stop 10 is first welded or otherwise secured to the bucket 34, and as illustrated in FIG. 8 a weld 60 is shown joining the stop member 10 to the bucket 34. Then, after member 10 has been affixed to bucket 34 the boom mechanism 24 and bucket 34 thereon are moved to the transitory position illustrated in FIG. 8 in which the portion 14 of the stop member has just touched arm member 26a following clockwise movement of bucket 34. In order to adjust the stop properly the bucket is pivoted to the position shown in FIG. 9 in which the portion 14 of the stop is flexed toward base portion 12 and then, while the bucket and arm member remain in thelimit position of FIG. 9 portions 12 and 14 are joined by welding at least in part. It may be desirable to make only a portion of the weld and then move the bucket away from arm 26a in order to finish the welding operation. It will be understood that with this method and procedure each stop is adjusted to or set at exactly the right position to compensate for any manufacturing tolerances or other factors which might otherwise cause the two stops on the bucket not to engage their respective arm members at the same time. It will be recognized by those familiar with machines such as*that illustrated that the present invention makes it possible readily to provide in each case a stop of exactly the desired thickness without the necessity of using any spacers such as was common in the prior art. Also, it has been common heretofore to resort to considerable grinding in some cases and building up of the stops by applying weld metal in other cases in order to produce stops which engaged the member to be contacted at exactly the proper time during operation. Normally it is desired that two stops on opposite sides of the machine be contacted or engaged at the same time but there are other conditions of spacing and limiting the movement of parts of machines which likewise can be met by utilizing the present invention.

It will be understood that once the stop has been securely welded into a unitary member with portion 12 secured to portion 14 in an inflexible manner that the stop then operates the same as a solid metal stop.

FIG. 11 shows two additional stops in accordance with the present invention. One is the same as stop a of FIG. 5 while the other, which is the same except reversed on the crosstube is indicated by the identifying character 10b. Each of these stops has the same base portion and overlying resiliently connected portion which has been welded to the base portion after the resilient portion has been properly located in accordance with the requirements of the particular installation.

In the particular boom arm mechanism illustrated, the stops 10a and 10b, and there are two of each as shown in FIG. 10, are set in a manner such that they are not ordinarily contacted by the associated parts of the mechanism. Instead, their purpose is to provide a limit of travel in the event that the associated parts for some reason go beyond the normal extreme position.

However, the stops 10a and 10b are set in the same manner as described previously for stop 10. Referring to FIG. 6, for example, it will be observed that bellcrank 38 is shown in contact with stop 10b. Ordinarily bellcrank 38 in this particular boom arm mechanism does not contact such stop. However, it is desired that the stop be available to limit the movement of bellcrank 38 in the event that it exceeds the normal extreme position, in order to protect the hydraulic actuator 50. It will be understood that such protection is accomplished by limiting the extension of actuator 50 and preventing the internal piston which forms a part of the actuator from contacting the right end of the cylinder which would produce abnormal force on such end fitting. The stop 10b is set by moving the boom arm mechanism 24 and the bellcrank 38 in a manner such that the latter goes beyond the normal extreme position and contacts the resilient portion of the stop. Then, while the parts remain in that position the resilient portion is welded to the base portion, either completely or partially. In the latter case, the welding is completed after the bellcrank 38 has been moved away from stop 10b.

In a similar manner, stop 10a is positioned so that under certain abnormal conditions it will be contacted by the bottom of bellcrank 38 as indicated in the raised position in FIG. 7. This is to accomplish two things principally. One is to prevent the bellcrank and link 42 from going over center which would prevent the actuator 50 from being extended in order to return them to a nondump position of the bucket. Even if these two parts do not go over center but only approach it closely there may be difficulty in restoring the bucket from the extreme position shown in FIG. 7 and stop 10a is useful in preventing these parts from exceeding desired operational limits.

The stop a is set in the same way as stop 10 and 10b, namely, by moving the parts to a position in which the bottom surface of bellcrank 38 contacts the flexibly supported portion of stop 10a. Then, while such portion is flexed, the stop is welded partially or completely, and if partially, the welding is completed after the bellcrank has been moved away from the stop.

It will be understood that while I have described and illustrated herein stops which may embody a base portion and an adjustment portion joined to the base portion by means of a resilient connection along one edge, that other equivalent configurations can be used. The essential requirements are that the stops have a predetermined thickness in the uninstalled condition and that it be possible to compress or reduce the thickness of a stop by movement of one of the abutable members toward the other so that while the stop is held in such compressed condition the two portions can be welded.

Also, it should be understood that the use of the term welding herein includes also brazing and other processes whereby two pieces of metal are joined by a process which involves melting and fusing them with or without the use of additional weld metal.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that this invention provides a facile construction and method for providing fixed rigid stops for machinery which can be readily set to a desired thickness or adjusted with respect to another stop to compensate for manufacturing tolerances and the like.

Therefore, while I have described and illustrated herein preferred embodiments of my invention it will be understood that modifications may be made. It should be understood that I intend to cover by the appended claims all such modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

l. A machinery stop for the handling of very large dynamic forces in the form of heavy blows comprising a weldable base portion, a weldable adjustment portion overlying the said base portion and resiliently joined thereto in an uninstalled condition, and a weld joining the said adjustment and base portions in the installed condition of the stop member.

2. A machinery stop as specified in claim 1 which has a predetermined thickness in the uninstalled condition and in which the thickness is less in the installed condition.

3. An operating stop member as specified in claim 2 in which the proportions of the adjustment and base portions and the amount of the weld joining them are such as to make the stop member essentially rigid in the installed condition.

4. A machinery stop as specified in claim 1 which is comprised principally of a single piece of metal and in which the resilient connection between the adjustment and base portions is along one edge and the said adjustment portion forms a cantilever projection over the said base portion in the said uninstalled condition.

5. The method of locating an adjustable stop between two abutable machine members which comprises securing to one of the abutable members a stop having a resilient adjustable portion arranged to be contacted by the other abutable member, moving the other abutable member to contact and flex the said adjustable portion thereof until the desired limit is reached, and at least partially welding the said adjustable portion to a base portion of the said stop while the other abutable member remains in contact with the said adjustable portion.

6. The method specified in claim 5 in which the said other abutable member is moved out of contact with the said adjustable portion and the said welding is then completed. 

1. A machinery stop for the handling of very large dynamic forces in the form of heavy blows comprising a weldable base portion, a weldable adjustment portion overlying the said base portion and resiliently joined thereto in an uninstalled condition, and a weld joining the said adjustment and base portions in the installed condition of the stop member.
 2. A machinery stop as specified in claim 1 which has a predetermined thickness in the uninstalled condition and in which the thickness is less in the installed condition.
 3. An operating stop member as specified in claim 2 in which the proportions of the adjustment and base portions and the amount of the weld joining them are such as to make the stop member essentially rigid in the installed condition.
 4. A machinery stop as specified in claim 1 which is comprised principally of a single piece of metal and in which the resilient connection between the adjustment and base portions is along one edge and the said adjustment portion forms a cantilever projection over the said base portion in the said uninstalled condition.
 5. The method of locating an adjustable stop between two abutable machine members which comprises securing to one of the abutable members a stop having a resilient adjustable portion arranged to be contacted by the other abutable member, moving the other abutable member to contact and flex the said adjustable portion thereof until the desired limit is reached, and at least partially welding the said adjustable portion to a base portion of the said stop while the other abutable member remains in contact with the said adjustable portion.
 6. The method specified in claim 5 in which the said other abutable member is moved out of contact with the said adjustable portion and the said welding is then completed. 